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  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    I've said this before but I think Bethesda's big issue is that they are a computer game company from the 1990s that managed to survive into the modern era when nearly all of their contemporaries - Westwood, Origin, Sierra, Interplay, etc etc - are gone. Some of that is due to smart decisions - like making their RPGs playable on console at the exact moment that PS2/O.G. Xbox really started leaving computer games in the dust for a few years - and a lot of it is due to sheer luck.

    And the thing is that I don't really think they've, like, learned the lessons of twenty years of forward progress in games design. Their philosophy is still the exact same thing that it was with Elder Scrolls 1 - "you should be able to play as ANYTHING and do WHATEVER YOU WANT" and because we don't have real life holodecks what that actually means in practice is that they make games that the player essentially floats through as a disconnected, bodiless observer, not really interacting with anyone or anything in a meaningful way, and it means that their idea of production values is still rooted in what would have been super cool in the 90s. Other games are giving these incredible, emotive performances and they're still like "We have VOICES!" and you fire up the game and hear three versions of the same Gruff Orc Voice Guy talking to himself.

  • ElldrenElldren Is a woman dammit ceterum censeoRegistered User regular
    I'm still mad about what happened to Jagged Alliance : /

    fuck gendered marketing
  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User, Moderator mod
    I'm... still enjoying Fallout. Like, all of them. Even that Brotherhood of Steel spinoff action game.

    8i1dt37buh2m.png
  • NecoNeco Worthless Garbage Registered User regular
    desc wrote: »
    So many games out there that are inferior to Blops


    >:3

    Blehhhps

  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    desc wrote: »
    So many games out there that are inferior to Blops


    >:3

    pew pew pew

    steam_sig.png
  • OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    i looked over at work and some old hispanic lady was staring at me waiting for me to notice

    i recoiled in horror

    how long was she there

  • AiouaAioua Ora Occidens Ora OptimaRegistered User regular
    I don't even have enough time to play the games I enjoy.

    life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
    fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
    that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
    bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
  • TTODewbackTTODewback Puts the drawl in ya'll I think I'm in HellRegistered User regular
    Yeah the world where the average consumers devices could handle a game where its a giant sandbox and the entire thing is full organic and alive is not our time.
    Maybe in the next 20 years or so.

    Bless your heart.
  • DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    edited February 2016
    Also! FO4
    The dialogue options show a character who is really fucking well adjusted for someone who was probably BBQing in his pre-apocalyptic backyard with his wife and infant son right before the story starts.

    Deebaser on
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    I remember fallout 3 or new Vegas or some shit.

    I walked into town and everyone was like HEY STRANGER FIX ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS.

    And I was like "nah, I'm good. "

    Went out and found some abandoned place. Got into a fight with bandits or demons or something stupid and died.

    Then turned it off.

    You-Ooh kgahh I'm choking on my own rage here.

  • OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    desc wrote: »
    So many games out there that are inferior to Blops


    >:3

    halo with me and shark

    @Sir Landshark when are we haloing

    think of it as an after school program to keep castles and descs out of trouble

  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    Elldren wrote: »
    I'm still mad about what happened to Jagged Alliance : /

    What happened to Jagged Alliance?

  • OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    Aioua wrote: »
    I don't even have enough time to play the games I enjoy.

    instead you watch me play xcom

  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    Gotta make phone calls tomorrow. That is the worst.

  • descdesc Goretexing to death Registered User regular
    Neco wrote: »
    desc wrote: »
    So many games out there that are inferior to Blops


    >:3

    Blehhhps

    Don't fight the feeling

  • bowenbowen Sup? Registered User regular
    Deebaser wrote: »
    Also! FO4
    The dialogue options show a character who is really fucking well adjusted for someone who was probably BBQing in his pre-apocalyptic backyard with his wife and infant son right before the story starts.

    Some people are really good at compartmentalizing their emotions and surviving.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    And every whiny little bitch assnugget in sanctuary needs a fatboy to the face.
    I should move my stuff, but I shouldn't have to. They're the ones that suck.

  • MazzyxMazzyx Comedy Gold Registered User regular
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    I've said this before but I think Bethesda's big issue is that they are a computer game company from the 1990s that managed to survive into the modern era when nearly all of their contemporaries - Westwood, Origin, Sierra, Interplay, etc etc - are gone. Some of that is due to smart decisions - like making their RPGs playable on console at the exact moment that PS2/O.G. Xbox really started leaving computer games in the dust for a few years - and a lot of it is due to sheer luck.

    And the thing is that I don't really think they've, like, learned the lessons of twenty years of forward progress in games design. Their philosophy is still the exact same thing that it was with Elder Scrolls 1 - "you should be able to play as ANYTHING and do WHATEVER YOU WANT" and because we don't have real life holodecks what that actually means in practice is that they make games that the player essentially floats through as a disconnected, bodiless observer, not really interacting with anyone or anything in a meaningful way, and it means that their idea of production values is still rooted in what would have been super cool in the 90s. Other games are giving these incredible, emotive performances and they're still like "We have VOICES!" and you fire up the game and hear three versions of the same Gruff Orc Voice Guy talking to himself.

    Some of those at the end of their life were doing things differently and still went under/got bought out like Westwood.

    Westwood at the end was not the Westwood of 1996. They had done some weird things. RTS being their core was their death though.

    Earth and Beyond was a good game. Had some cool stuff. And was an mmo like Asheron's Call that had a changing dynamic story in the world itself.

    u7stthr17eud.png
  • OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    call of dooty modern worf hair

  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    emnmnme wrote: »
    I remember fallout 3 or new Vegas or some shit.

    I walked into town and everyone was like HEY STRANGER FIX ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS.

    And I was like "nah, I'm good. "

    Went out and found some abandoned place. Got into a fight with bandits or demons or something stupid and died.

    Then turned it off.

    You-Ooh kgahh I'm choking on my own rage here.

    That is my head cannon. Guy walks out of vault. World is crazy. Wants nothing to do with it. Is never seen again.

    steam_sig.png
  • DemonStaceyDemonStacey TTODewback's Daughter In love with the TaySwayRegistered User regular
    TehSloth wrote: »
    my doctor still not calling me back

    definitely wrote the wrong prescription but denied it

    what the fuck is even happening

    i have so many goddamn pills i don't want now

    Well I mean, if you're not usin em'

    Dibs.

    Sorry sloth you didn't say dibs.

  • credeikicredeiki Registered User regular
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    I've said this before but I think Bethesda's big issue is that they are a computer game company from the 1990s that managed to survive into the modern era when nearly all of their contemporaries - Westwood, Origin, Sierra, Interplay, etc etc - are gone. Some of that is due to smart decisions - like making their RPGs playable on console at the exact moment that PS2/O.G. Xbox really started leaving computer games in the dust for a few years - and a lot of it is due to sheer luck.

    And the thing is that I don't really think they've, like, learned the lessons of twenty years of forward progress in games design. Their philosophy is still the exact same thing that it was with Elder Scrolls 1 - "you should be able to play as ANYTHING and do WHATEVER YOU WANT" and because we don't have real life holodecks what that actually means in practice is that they make games that the player essentially floats through as a disconnected, bodiless observer, not really interacting with anyone or anything in a meaningful way, and it means that their idea of production values is still rooted in what would have been super cool in the 90s. Other games are giving these incredible, emotive performances and they're still like "We have VOICES!" and you fire up the game and hear three versions of the same Gruff Orc Voice Guy talking to himself.

    Yes. This is my #1 barrier to enjoying elder scrolls 4+5 and fallout 3+4. I feel no connection to my character, my character feels no connection to the world, I just run around and fuck shit up for a while and look at the graphics and then quit, having not progressed very far in the main plot and not really caring to play any further.

    Steam, LoL: credeiki
  • descdesc Goretexing to death Registered User regular
    desc wrote: »
    So many games out there that are inferior to Blops


    >:3

    halo with me and shark

    @Sir Landshark when are we haloing

    think of it as an after school program to keep castles and descs out of trouble

    But cod is so better

  • TehSlothTehSloth Hit Or Miss I Guess They Never Miss, HuhRegistered User regular
    emnmnme wrote: »
    Elldren wrote: »
    I'm still mad about what happened to Jagged Alliance : /

    What happened to Jagged Alliance?

    Jagged Alliance is great, it's a shame there haven't been better sequels. I think there was a remake a few years back that was pretty good but was pretty much just a remake I think, not really a new game.

    FC: 1993-7778-8872 PSN: TehSloth Xbox: SlothTeh
    twitch.tv/tehsloth
  • TTODewbackTTODewback Puts the drawl in ya'll I think I'm in HellRegistered User regular
    They might not be as grand as they could be, but I hope Bethesda doesn't stop making their sandbox games. Eventually technology will catch up and they can finally make one like they imagine it.
    And if they aren't around who knows who could do it.

    Bless your heart.
  • BEAST!BEAST! Adventurer Adventure!!!!!Registered User regular
    you guys sure are playing fallout 4 wrong

    S...Senpai just teleports around knocking people into the stratosphere with a baseball bat...everybody...nobody is safe from his baseball bat of justice....

    dfzn9elrnajf.png
  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    Kana wrote: »
    it does kinda feel like rpgs have gone from the only place where you could find a focus on good writing and characters, to sort of lagging behind the best of like action and adventure games.

    though I haven't played witcher 3 yet

    It's definitely the case that they don't have the exclusive license to good storytelling anymore

    but that said two of my favorite game stories in the past year were Shadowrun HK and Pillars of Eternity

    I just think that big-budget RPGs have suffered, and will probably suffer for a few more years, from ill-considered attempts to ride Skyrim's low-narrative-content coattails. It sounds like Witcher 3 was not entirely immune to this either.

  • OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    man i should just get bloops 3 but no one would ever play it with me

  • DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    Deebaser wrote: »
    Also! FO4
    The dialogue options show a character who is really fucking well adjusted for someone who was probably BBQing in his pre-apocalyptic backyard with his wife and infant son right before the story starts.

    Some people are really good at compartmentalizing their emotions and surviving.

    It's an ARE PEE GEE. I should be able to play someone other than Wasteland Sarcastic Hawke.

  • bowenbowen Sup? Registered User regular
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    I've said this before but I think Bethesda's big issue is that they are a computer game company from the 1990s that managed to survive into the modern era when nearly all of their contemporaries - Westwood, Origin, Sierra, Interplay, etc etc - are gone. Some of that is due to smart decisions - like making their RPGs playable on console at the exact moment that PS2/O.G. Xbox really started leaving computer games in the dust for a few years - and a lot of it is due to sheer luck.

    And the thing is that I don't really think they've, like, learned the lessons of twenty years of forward progress in games design. Their philosophy is still the exact same thing that it was with Elder Scrolls 1 - "you should be able to play as ANYTHING and do WHATEVER YOU WANT" and because we don't have real life holodecks what that actually means in practice is that they make games that the player essentially floats through as a disconnected, bodiless observer, not really interacting with anyone or anything in a meaningful way, and it means that their idea of production values is still rooted in what would have been super cool in the 90s. Other games are giving these incredible, emotive performances and they're still like "We have VOICES!" and you fire up the game and hear three versions of the same Gruff Orc Voice Guy talking to himself.

    Yeah maybe hiring like, 10 more voice actors would benefit them.

    Or like... changing the voices digitally with some sort of code piece so not everyone sounds like fucking Lucan in the first town.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    edited February 2016
    Red Dead Redemption was probably the highlight of sandbox games.

    Boom.

    DasUberEdward on
    steam_sig.png
  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    man i should just get bloops 3 but no one would ever play it with me

    If I ever decide to throw away money and join the next gen

    steam_sig.png
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    Deebaser wrote: »
    Also! FO4
    The dialogue options show a character who is really fucking well adjusted for someone who was probably BBQing in his pre-apocalyptic backyard with his wife and infant son right before the story starts.

    Some people are really good at compartmentalizing their emotions and surviving.

    some people are really good at writing terrible uncharacters in bad plotlines with bland dialogue, also

  • ElldrenElldren Is a woman dammit ceterum censeoRegistered User regular
    emnmnme wrote: »
    Elldren wrote: »
    I'm still mad about what happened to Jagged Alliance : /

    What happened to Jagged Alliance?

    The IP's been tossed around a dozen times and there've been just a series of poor decisions from publishers regarding it

    fuck gendered marketing
  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    what is lean

    Promethazine/codeine syrup, a mild opiate which rose to prominence due to some particularly bad rap music and the eventual overdose death of the progenitor, DJ Screw.

  • ChanusChanus Harbinger of the Spicy Rooster Apocalypse The Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered User regular
    bowen wrote: »
    Deebaser wrote: »
    Also! FO4
    The dialogue options show a character who is really fucking well adjusted for someone who was probably BBQing in his pre-apocalyptic backyard with his wife and infant son right before the story starts.

    Some people are really good at compartmentalizing their emotions and surviving.

    some people are really good at writing terrible uncharacters in bad plotlines with bland dialogue, also

    could you tell the difference in a blind taste test

    Allegedly a voice of reason.
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    Red Dead Redemption was probably the highlight of sandbox games.

    Boom.

    You couldn't just have sex with the prostitutes in the saloon because John Marston is a married man. Little details like that did wonders for the game.

  • OrphaneOrphane rivers of red that run to seaRegistered User regular
    Sleeping Dogs tho

  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    TL DR wrote: »
    what is lean

    Promethazine/codeine syrup, a mild opiate which rose to prominence due to some particularly bad rap music and the eventual overdose death of the progenitor, DJ Screw.

    Or you know non-fatty sources of protein if I'd bothered to scroll up the page.

  • MazzyxMazzyx Comedy Gold Registered User regular
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    Kana wrote: »
    it does kinda feel like rpgs have gone from the only place where you could find a focus on good writing and characters, to sort of lagging behind the best of like action and adventure games.

    though I haven't played witcher 3 yet

    It's definitely the case that they don't have the exclusive license to good storytelling anymore

    but that said two of my favorite game stories in the past year were Shadowrun HK and Pillars of Eternity

    I just think that big-budget RPGs have suffered, and will probably suffer for a few more years, from ill-considered attempts to ride Skyrim's low-narrative-content coattails. It sounds like Witcher 3 was not entirely immune to this either.

    I need to finish it but my thoughts on Witcher 3 is the main story is as good or better than Witcher 2. Some of the side missions are moving and tied to the plot in a way you didn't even guess.

    Contracts and blotting out every little dot on the map is a waste of time unless I really need some money or just about to level.

    u7stthr17eud.png
This discussion has been closed.